The philosopher Plato and the DJ producer Giorgio Moroder: it may seem strange but it was they who inspired, among others, the fifth edition of the Biennale Gherdëina, which takes place from the day after tomorrow, 21 July, to 11 September in Ortisei, in Val Gardena .
PICTURES
The title of the event – “From Here to Eternity / Da qui all’eternità” – coincides with that of a song from the 1970s by the record company that was born (in 1940) in Ortisei, the splendid town in the South Tyrolean Dolomites, also famous for his wood carvings. The wooden material and its processing remain an important feature of the place but, in this case, it is only a starting point for the works of art created by the 12 artists invited by the curator Adam Budak, former curator as well as at the National Gallery in Prague also Manifesta 7, the Kunsthaus Graz and the Estonia pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
His choice to deal with the theme of tradition looking at the contemporary and involving international artists such as Stephan Balkenhol (Germany), Katinka Bock (Gemania), Fernando Sánchez Castillo (Spain), Anna Hulacová (Czech Republic), Franz Kapfer (Austria), Symons Kobylarz (Poland), Christian Kosmas Mayer (Germany), and five Italian names: Marzia Migliora, Adrian Paci (born in Albania but actually Italianized), Nicola Samorì, Xavier Veilhan, Michele Bernardi.
Six of them have created new works, created specifically for the place and for the biennial and have succeeded thanks to the contribution of local artisans. Materials – and local economies – are confronted with the different expressive and conceptual modes of the artists for a heterogeneous final result: it ranges from sculpture which, in the case of Stephan Balkenhol and his work “Grand homme chemise blanche, jeans bleu” almost claims the its status of being solid and concrete (a human figure almost three meters high) making use of its tradition which is based on wood and chisel, up to the “ephemeral” works of Michele Bernardi, which exceeds his knowledge and competence of woodworking and inlay to create a work based on concepts of space and time.
The fifth edition of the Gherdëina Biennale can be visited until 11 September 2016, the final day in which a concert by J.Luther Adams will be held at 4 pm on Mount Rasciesa, with the participation of Takt
Percussion Group & friends, in collaboration with the Transart – Festival of Contemporary Culture.
Useful information
From 22 July to 11 September 2016
From Monday to Saturday, 10: 12.30 and 16: 19.00 Ortisei, Small Piazza Sant’Antonio and the Artistic and Cultural Circle
www.biennalegherdeina.it